suggestions please for ds (8), his reading level is about age 12, but we're running out of suitable material..

[clumsymum]

He is an avid reader, reads for at least 30 mins every bedtime, gets thru a novel in 2 days. Read all horrid henry last year, just completed the Astrosaurs series, read some famous five/ secret seven (altho they don't seem to grip him, been thru all the Jeremy trong the library can provide, read loads of Dick King-Smith.

So where can we look next. Is he ready do you think for Harry Potter independantly (I always said we'd read them together, but ds is less interested in bedtime stories from Mummy now). His teacher has lent him the first Artemis Fowl book, can anyone tell me what sequence the series goes in, so I can order the next one from the library?

ny help gratefully received.

[SauerKraut]

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket,(lasts a while, it's 13 books!)and The Mustang Machine have all been enjoyed by my 8, 9 and 10 year olds recently...

[Marina]

I think the second one is The Arctic Incident

The first couple of Harry Potters are OK for independent reading at this age IMO but the series gets much darker and more complex with every book after the Prisoner of Azkaban

Have you tried him with any Michael Morpurgo, he's a great favourite, and also Cressida Cowell's series on training dragons (can't remember the exact title, sorry)
Plus Joshua Doder's Grrk series is fab for this age

[PandaG]

DS is nearly 8 - he has read several of the Narnia series, if you think that would interest him, and lots of the horrible histories/science/geography etc.

We've bought Michael Morpurgo set for him for Christmas from the Book People, quite adult themes but excellent writing - I wil read the books as well so he has someone to discuss them with.

[PandaG]

oh yes, Lemony Snicket - he raced through those - Book people have them on offer too. Grrk on my list of books to buy...

[clumsymum]

Ah I think we had a Micheal Morpurgo from the Library a couple of months ago, will search for his titles.

For some reason I thought Lemony Snicket was for teenagers ?

Am off to look at Grrk and the dragon training stuff (not sure if our spaniels will appreciate having to impersonate dragons....)

Triffic thanks, any more ?

[clumsymum]

Oh yes, meant to say we have 2 bookshelves full of Horrible histories stuff

[PestoMonster]

Has anyone suggested
the Just William series ?

[PestoMonster]

or
Michael Morpurgo series

[clumsymum]

Might try Just William again. He had them for his 7th birthday, but they do use a lot of old-fashioned phrases in which I have to explain, so altho we read them together, ds got a bit frustrated reading them alone. Kept yelling down the stairs "What does 'a pensived demeanour crossed his visage' mean"

[PestoMonster]

Another little series of 3 books, which I read as a child and both my dds really liked were
the Carbonel books by Barbara Sleigh

[Threadworm]

Harry Potters, Narnia, Anthony Horowitz, that lovely series by Michel Paver(sp) starting with 'Wolf Brother', The Hobbit, Marjory Blackman books.
Seeing the Lord of the Rings films about a hundred times has meant that my 8yo DS2 has coped very well with reading the books.

[singersgirl]

I'd second the Grk books and also the Cressida Cowell ones; there are five or six now, beginning with "How to train your dragon", "How to be a pirate" and "How to speak Dragonese".

DS1 (now 9) enjoyed Lemony Snicket at 7 and 8, and also Harry Potter. He hasn't really enjoyed Michael Morpurgo as many of the plots are very sad - boy goes blind, old man reminisces on losses of war etc. But maybe he's just been unlucky with his choices.

Some of the younger Philip Pullmans are good - "I was a rat", "The scarecrow and his servant" etc.

[Niecie]

DS is 7 and we are reading Harry Potter together at the mo. We (me and DH) read to him for a bit and then he finishes the chapter (and more if he thinks we aren't paying attention). If he reads well he is definitely ready for them, the first 4 anyway. I would say the last 3 are a bit dark although DS is pushing to read no. 5 having just finished no. 4 and I am in two minds at the mo.

Have you read all the Jeremy Strong books? They are quite fun but won't take long.

I bought DS some of the Cressida Cowell books for his birthday - How to be a Pirate, How to train your Dragon, and all that sort of thing. They look like fun too. (Are they what you are talking about Clumsymum)?

The Anthony Horowitz books, Alex Ryder series is aimed at children of 12yo but if he could read them why not now?

Definitely Horrible Histories if he haven't read those. DS loves them as well.

Narnia should go down well as well and the more difficult Roahl Dahls.

[IlanaK]

That's interesting about the Just William series as I was about to get those for my 6 year old. He is an avid reader too and is devouring books faster than I can get him. His reading level is about that of a 9 year old so no Harry Potter for him yet! He is working his way through the Little Wolf series at the moment at a book every two days. I suggested the Just William series to him and he was intrerested, but now I am wondering if the language will be too difficult. He reads the Famous Five, but prefers it to be read to him (I think it is just a bit too wordy for him still).

[Blandmum]

A wizards of Earthsea... fantastic book, but the later ones are more serious in tone and might be a little scary for him

A winkle in Time by Madeline l'enegle (sp?)

The alan Garner goods, The owl Service is a good one, and the Wierdstone of Brisingamen is also good.

The hobbit.

[Niecie]

Sorry, did remember when writing that you had mentioned Jeremy Strong.

What about the classics like The Phoenix and the Carpet, Tom's Midnight Garden, Stig of the Dump, Charlotte's Web etc?

[clumsymum]

Oh some great ideas here, thank you.

Ilana, I'd hold off Just William for a bit I think, altho I was thrilled when ds was given them.

[Bink]

There's a slightly simplified version (adapted by Martin Jarvis) of Just William called "Meet Just William" that Marina told me about - that's much more accessible. There are four or so books in the series.

Philip Reeve's Larklight, and its sequel Starcross.

Kjartan Poskitt's Urgum (..the Axe Man, ..the Seat of Flames etc.) series - not very serious, great fun. Other things by Poskitt too - Murderous Maths series etc. A History of Pants, I think, too.

All the Jenningses. Molesworth if it suits his sense of humour.

Ds's recent reading has been the above, plus: all-the-Harry-Potters (beware: once they start, they get hooked, and it is Basically Impossible to restrain them from those later darker books); Carl Hiaasen's Hoot; Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

He's reading Watership Down at the moment, courtesy of tip from Dino.

Most of these I get from the library - I haunt the "new books" stand at the front.

[RosaLuxMundi]

The Roman Mysteries is also excellent for this age and definitely Lemony Snicket - DD1 loved them at 8. She also has some Eddie Dickens but I have not read them myself so not sure how suitable for 8 (she is 10).

[RosaLuxMundi]

The first 10 Roman Mysteries are on offer from Book People atm at a really good price by the way.

[Marina]

Ds is revisiting Reeve's Night of the Living Veg bink, and loving it - he has decided he likes comedy thrillers best right now, so I'll look out for more of Reeve's books
And I am going to get him some more of the Anthony Horowitz novels aimed at slightly younger children - The Falcon's Malteser, I Know What you Did Last Wednesday, etc
Funny though, ds loathed Lemony Snicket - he is not usually so vociferous about stuff he doesn't enjoy. He thought they were rubbish "and that was clearly not his real name", errrr, no indeed (Joshua Doder appears to be a pseudonym if you look at the bibliographic details inside the front cover btw)

[frogs]

Enid Blyton?

I don't object to her, think she writes a cracking good story, but there are those who hate.

Rosemary Sutcliffe: 'Eagle of the Ninth'

Anthony Horowitz: you could start off with things like 'The Devil and His Boy' and move on to the Alex Rider books which my ds (8) and several of his classmates are obsessed with. Also Harry and the Wrinklies (can't remember the author, but there are a couple in the series); Measle and the Dragodon (ditto), CS Lewis The Narnia Books; Christ Riddle, or whatever they're called the sub-Disc world series; The Hobbit; Caroline Lawrence Roman Mysteries, as already suggested.

Also the Horrible Histories and Horrible Science Books. And yes, Harry P. of course.

[Candlewax]

Robert Muchamore is a good one. It is a series of child spy books for children.